Council adopts regulations for medical marijuana collectives

After four grueling sessions, the San Jose City Council finally defined and approved regulations for medical marijuana collectives by a 7-4 vote on June 10.

Council members Kansen Chu, Don Rocha, Xavier Campos and Ash Kalra voted against the regulations, which include:

Prohibiting medical marijuana facilities within 1,000 feet of schools, daycare centers, libraries and community centers; within 150 feet of residences; and within North San Jose, Edenvale and the International Business Park;

Prohibiting minors from entering medical marijuana facilities and preventing the drug from being sold or diverted to minors;

Prohibiting anyone with a criminal history from participating in marijuana cultivation or in the operation of a dispensary; and

Prohibiting loitering in the parking lots and areas around the dispensaries.

The council will take another look at a proposed requirement for a closed-loop system to ensure the facilities are dispensing medical marijuana cultivated on site and not by illegal sources such as gangs and drug cartels. The item is on the Aug. 5 council agenda.

The first three council sessions on the topic were long as council members questioned staff and the city attorney about the potential regulations. More than 55 public speakers stated their case at the first session. The second session was interrupted by a discussion of a potential county or VTA tax.

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When most of the questions seemed to be decided at the third session, the council vote was a 5-5 tie, with Pete Constant absent. Three of the five no votes--Rose Herrera, Kansen Chu and Xavier Campos--wanted an outright ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, while others wanted some regulations loosened.

at the June 10 meeting, several council members expressed concern that requiring collectives to grow their own marijuana may lead to fires in grow houses and excessive use of both electricity and water within the city. Mayor Chuck Reed suggested staff and the city attorney look into a method of enforcing cultivation with a nearby county, such as Santa Cruz.

Staff considers it highly important to control cultivation from seed to sale, especially transportation, saying that limiting cultivation within the city limits means that collectives can verify where the marijuana is coming from and eliminates transportation questions about criminal elements adding the drug during transit.

Reed continued to cite Colorado's new law legalizing marijuana use. The state strictly monitors every phase of cultivation, including a regulatory authority that covers all timing of transportation and routes for distribution of the drug.

James Anthony, chairman of Sensible San Jose, said the pro- cannabis group isn't yet satisfied with the regulations the city has discussed.

"We urge them to reconsider their overly restrictive zoning and sensitive use proximities based on their misinterpretation of federal enforcement guidance," Anthony said. "They are about to close down dozens of law-abiding, good neighbor collectives with spotless track records and no community complaints whatsoever, who have paid millions of dollars in taxes directly to the city."

Sensible San Jose would create a 100-foot buffer between youth centers, public swimming pools and video arcades. The council is looking at a 150-foot buffer. Staff suggested hours between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., while the collectives put up hours between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.

City staff found about 25 cannabis clubs that currently are paying taxes and have not been cited as nuisances. Sensible San Jose listed about 50 that should be allowed to continue their business, including one in Almaden Valley, three in the Cambrian area, two in the Rose Garden and six in Willow Glen.